The two major ones are male-female relations and the ideals of the samurai class. Thornton (2008, 200) says, “The Japanese have had a rough time in the last fifteen years the economic bubble of 1986-1990 burst and left Japan in recession for ten years.” So, a viewer who is distressed by all the social and economic unease could sympathise with the film’s hero they are both in search of a solution for their problems.Īs noted, the first ninety minutes of the film are about elements of Jamoese society which face change. Munezô, the protagonist, stands as a contemporary Japanese man who tries to understand the new world. Sybil Thornton (2008, 176) explains this point as follows: “the restoration will be the death of a class, the samurai, and the substitution of the sword by modern technology.” Thus, the warrior class, which was eliminated by the new political system, provides the director with a great opportunity to illustrate the full extent of the ‘change’. Moreover, by choosing a samurai, Yamada refers to the depth of potential changes in Japanese society. Therefore, viewers feel the effects of changes to a samurai’s life more profoundly when they have awe for his character. As Akira Kurosawa (1983) argues in his autobiography, films’ audiences try to escape from their own weaknesses by succumbing to the great heroes of narrative films. The bravery and charisma of the members of this class are tools for calling the attention of spectators. Traditionally, Jidaigeki or period films are focused on the lives and deeds of the samurai class. Yôji Yamada did not arbitrarily choose a samurai as the hero there are several reasons for putting a warrior in the middle of the changes. how the Japanese should deal with the changes in their lives. The third part is the conclusion of the essay, which draws out the director’s message, i.e. The next part focuses on the last forty minutes of the film, illustrating how the change happens in a visual sense and how it affects the protagonist’s samurai values. The balance of this essay will be presented in three sections the first part explains how Yamada, in the first ninety minutes of the film, carefully and gradually shows some of the changing elements of Japanese society. The ‘ordinary samurai’, Munezô Katagiri (Masatoshi Nagase), as the film’s protagonist, should respond adequately to these changes. ” The film’s story narrates how the political and social changes affect the lives of the people. The story takes place in the last years of the Tokugawa period when in Alain Silver’s words (2005, 258), “ ordinary samurai caught up in the turbulent wake of the bakumatsu. The concept of ‘change’ is the most significant theme of the film. Yôji Yamada, 2004) portrays the beginning of the end the end of the Tokugawa era (1600-1868) and the shift of political power from shogunate clans to the Imperial court of Japan. The Hidden Blade Change in Japanese Societyīy Alireza Vahdani Volume 15, Issue 1 / January 2011 14 minutes (3304 words)
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